Improvement in bee-hives



:nadenkt4 SAMUEL GU'PLIN, OF IOWA FALLS, IOWA.

IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 120,944, dated November 14, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL GUPLIN, of Iowa Falls, in the county of Hardin and the State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bee-Hives; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon which form a part of this specification. l

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of a bee-hive so that it can be changed with a broad shallow broodcha-mber in thc summer to a deep narrow one in winter, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawing, in Which- Figure 1 is a transverse vertical, and Fig. 2 a longitudinal vertical section, of my bee-hive. Fig. 3 is a View of a partition used in the same.

A represents the body of my hive, provided with the cap B, which covers the entire interior of the hive. The lower portion of the hive is on the front and rear sides lined with a board, C, and one or more layers of paper between said board and the outside hive, which arrangement keeps out cold and heat. In the ends of the hive are boards D l) extending the entire height of the hive, and a board, E, is placed on top of the same, covering the entire chamber formed within the main hive. This covering-board E has ventilators, a, at each end, as shown in Fig. 2. On the inside of the front and rear of the hive are cleats d d and b b, attached upon which the brood and honey-frames are suspended; or shoulders or offsets may be formed in said front and rear sides for the samepurpose. In summer time the broodframes G G are suspended on the cleats b b in the lower part of the hive, while the surplus honeyframes are suspended on the cleats d d. Thus in summer time I have a broad shallow brood-chamber, which in winter time is converted into a narrow deep chamber as follows:

The surplus honey-frames are all removed and the brood-frames G G from the ends are placed above the center ones, as represented in the drawing. At each end of the frames thus arranged is placed a partition, H, thus completing the narrow and deep brood-chamber. These partitions are on each side provided with a strip, I, which is pivoted on the outer side at the lower end of the partition. In the center, on the outside of each of said partitions, is pivoted another bar or button, J, so that by turning the same nearly horizontal its ends will press the bars I I outward against the sides of the hive and bind the partition in its place. The vacant spaces at the ends of the hive are then to be filled with paper or other suitable material for absorbing the moisture arising from the bees. The partitions II II are at their upper ends provided with ventilators e e, from which the foul air passes up through the ventilators a a in the covering-board E.

By this mode of arranging the ventilation a great deal of animal heat will be retained which would pass out if the ventilators were directly over the brood-chamber.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A bee-hive capable of changing the form of its brood-chamber from a broad shallow one in summer time to a deep narrow one in winter, said change being efected by means of the partitionboards H H, secured by the strips I I and buttons J, substantially as herein set forth.

2. The combination of partition-boards H 'H with frames G G, hive A, and cap G, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

lWitnesses: SAMUEL GUPLIN.

F. M. WIELAND, MONROE GrBBs. 

